U.S. v. George

Memorandum in Support of Sentencing

This is a sentencing memo for a defendant convicted of a crack cocaine conspiracy. My client (pseudonymous here) was facing a five-year statutory minimum and a 41-month guidelines minimum, but a 5K1. The guidelines are irrelevant to justice, so I ignored them, arguing instead that in light of defendant's horrid childhood and his long history of law-abiding behavior, the court should recognize its inability to assess what the defendant deserved, and should therefore err on the side of mercy.

I was able to make the point; my client got time served (three days?) and four years' supervised release where other cooperating defendants whom the government described as less culpable got a year or more in prison.

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT THE ___ DISTRICT OF ___ STATES OF AMERICA No. ___ LEONARD GEORGE IN SUPPORT OF SENTENCING Ellison: I talk to Robert George, and when I read about his life (especially in 34 of the Presentence Investigation Report), I wonder: who are we to judge this human being? age six Mr. George saw his father execute his mother in the street. Four later he was nearby when his cousin murdered his father. How, without undergone comparable trauma, can we lawyers possibly have the to understand what Mr. George deserves? George is 49 years old. He attends 12-Step program meetings every two He has been under pretrial supervision for three years and (unlike of his codefendants) has had no problems. He has been employed fulltime at the same company, Southeast Trailer Painting, for more than three while under conditions of release. His employer there describes him as of our most loyal and dedicated employees” (please see David Barnes’s attached, as well as the other attachments). He and his wife provide IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE ___ DISTRICT OF ___ ___ DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA § § vs. § No. ___ § ROBERT LEONARD GEORGE § MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF SENTENCING Judge Ellison: When I talk to Robert George, and when I read about his life (especially in paragraph 34 of the Presentence Investigation Report), I wonder: who are we lawyers to judge this human being? At age six Mr. George saw his father execute his mother in the street. Four years later he was nearby when his cousin murdered his father. How, without having undergone comparable trauma, can we lawyers possibly have the wisdom to understand what Mr. George deserves? Mr. George is 49 years old. He attends 12-Step program meetings every two weeks. He has been under pretrial supervision for three years and (unlike either of his codefendants) has had no problems. He has been employed fulltime at the same company, Southeast Trailer Painting, for more than three years while under conditions of release. His employer there describes him as “one of our most loyal and dedicated employees” (please see David Barnes’s letter, attached, as well as the other attachments). He and his wife provide Document hosted at http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=92e02c78-dcc6-451b-8f55-b264e39940e9themselves and for their sixteen-year-old daughter and three-month-old (who is not mentioned in the PSR because she was born after PSR interview). Mr. George’s arrest and release on conditions in this case, he was for six months by the Salvation Army as a warehouse foreman. and during that time that he was in the Salvation Army’s Adult Center (ARC) for nine months --he attended a six-month and decided to remain at the ARC for an additional three months. rehab he was an unemployed crack addict for two years, from age 43 age 45, during which he became involved in this conspiracy. George challenges the roles attributed to him in Paragraph 7. He believes he was not involved in either the 3.87 gram transaction or the 2.93 gram on July and that he was involved in only one on September 14th, 2004. In the single September 14th, 2004 that Mr. George recalls, Mr. Scott was not the supplier; some in a nearby apartment complex provided the drugs. This does not the numbers under the sentencing guidelines (the base offense level is same for five grams of crack cocaine as for 19.99 grams), but it does a more accurate picture of Mr. George’s involvement in the which was that of a crackhead carrying dope for his dealer in for small amounts of crack cocaine or small sums of money. without having been addicted to crack cocaine from 39 to age 45, we lawyers fathom Mr. George’s conduct during the last two years of that in his life? for themselves and for their sixteen-year-old daughter and three-month-old granddaughter (who is not mentioned in the PSR because she was born after the PSR interview). Before Mr. George’s arrest and release on conditions in this case, he was employed for six months by the Salvation Army as a warehouse foreman. Before and during that time that he was in the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) for nine months --he attended a six-month program and decided to remain at the ARC for an additional three months. Before rehab he was an unemployed crack addict for two years, from age 43 to age 45, during which he became involved in this conspiracy. Mr. George challenges the roles attributed to him in Paragraph 7. He believes that he was not involved in either the 3.87 gram transaction or the 2.93 gram transaction on July 14th, 2004, and that he was involved in only one transaction on September 14th, 2004. In the single September 14th, 2004 transaction that Mr. George recalls, Mr. Scott was not the supplier; some youths in a nearby apartment complex provided the drugs. This does not affect the numbers under the sentencing guidelines (the base offense level is the same for five grams of crack cocaine as for 19.99 grams), but it does provide a more accurate picture of Mr. George’s involvement in the conspiracy, which was that of a crackhead carrying dope for his dealer in exchange for small amounts of crack cocaine or small sums of money. How, without having been addicted to crack cocaine from age 39 to age 45, can we lawyers fathom Mr. George’s conduct during the last two years of that period in his life? Document hosted at http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=92e02c78-dcc6-451b-8f55-b264e39940e9he became addicted to crack cocaine at about age 39, Mr. George was a abiding member of society, never charged with any other crime. (The arrest referred to in Paragraph 32 was a mistake, the result of a theft check committed by a white man named Robert Earl George.) He has been since 1984 as a dialysis technician; he did that work from age 20 to before which (from age 19 to age 20) he was a prison guard in Attica. cocaine is illegal because it is bad for people. It is unwholesome and to the human using it. It is also unwholesome and dangerous to because otherwise-honest people addicted to crack cocaine sometimes that are far outside their characters. The acts just don’t fit. Robert George is at least as much a victim of crack cocaine trafficking as he a malefactor. He has overcome his addiction and returned to being a member of society. And so we are presented with a 49-year-old who, for 43 of those years, was a law-abiding and contributing member Mr. George was able to turn his life around (not under the compulsion of supervision, but before he was even arrested in this case) and again a productive member of society is a tribute to the resiliency of the spirit and (probably not incidentally) to the power of the love of a good Sally Mae Jordan, to whom Mr. George has been married for 28 we lawyers are left wondering what to do about his antisocial acts while he was under the sway of that addiction. His crimes merit Before he became addicted to crack cocaine at about age 39, Mr. George was a law-abiding member of society, never charged with any other crime. (The 1993 arrest referred to in Paragraph 32 was a mistake, the result of a theft by check committed by a white man named Robert Earl George.) He has been certified since 1984 as a dialysis technician; he did that work from age 20 to age 34, before which (from age 19 to age 20) he was a prison guard in Attica. Crack cocaine is illegal because it is bad for people. It is unwholesome and dangerous to the human using it. It is also unwholesome and dangerous to society because otherwise-honest people addicted to crack cocaine sometimes do things that are far outside their characters. The acts just don’t fit. Robert Leonard George is at least as much a victim of crack cocaine trafficking as he is a malefactor. He has overcome his addiction and returned to being a productive member of society. And so we are presented with a 49-year-old man who, for 43 of those years, was a law-abiding and contributing member of society. That Mr. George was able to turn his life around (not under the compulsion of pretrial supervision, but before he was even arrested in this case) and again become a productive member of society is a tribute to the resiliency of the human spirit and (probably not incidentally) to the power of the love of a good woman, Sally Mae Jordan, to whom Mr. George has been married for 28 years. So we lawyers are left wondering what to do about his antisocial acts committed while he was under the sway of that addiction. His crimes merit Document hosted at http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=92e02c78-dcc6-451b-8f55-b264e39940e9sanction, but his life before and after those crimes merits great But lawyers” don’t have to judge Mr. George. The lawyer and I get to dump that responsibility on the court, then back. The Government has said that it will file a 5K1 motion in this sentence will be available to the court, from time served to life in 3553 requires that sentences promote respect for the law, but the law be respected as far as the law is respectable, and no farther; respect be deliberately manufactured. The factors set forth in Section 3553 no more wisdom than does the sentence-by-number scheme of the A judge can justify virtually any sentence in the terms of Section A good judge will consider each individual and each case on its own recognizing the limits of his own knowledge and so erring on the side can sum up Section 3553’s requirements in six words: Do justice; love walk humbly. Everything else is window dressing. some sanction, but his life before and after those crimes merits great consideration. But “we lawyers” don’t have to judge Mr. George. The Government’s lawyer and I get to dump that responsibility on the court, then step back. The Government has said that it will file a 5K1 motion in this case, so any sentence will be available to the court, from time served to life in prison. Section 3553 requires that sentences promote respect for the law, but the law will be respected as far as the law is respectable, and no farther; respect cannot be deliberately manufactured. The factors set forth in Section 3553 provide no more wisdom than does the sentence-by-number scheme of the Guidelines. A judge can justify virtually any sentence in the terms of Section 3553. A good judge will consider each individual and each case on its own merits, recognizing the limits of his own knowledge and so erring on the side of mercy. I can sum up Section 3553’s requirements in six words: Do justice; love mercy; walk humbly. Everything else is window dressing. Document hosted at http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=92e02c78-dcc6-451b-8f55-b264e39940e9Submitted, & Bennett, Lawyers Oxford Street Texas 77007 713.224.1747 832.201.7770 Bennett mb@IVI3.com 00792970 Leonard George’s Lawyer OF SERVICE emailed a copy of this document to the attorney for the Government before it with the court. Bennett Leonard George’s Lawyer Respectfully Submitted, Bennett & Bennett, Lawyers 735 Oxford Street Houston, Texas 77007 Tel. 713.224.1747 Fax 832.201.7770 By: Mark Bennett Email mb@IVI3.com SBN 00792970 Robert Leonard George’s Lawyer CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I emailed a copy of this document to the attorney for the Government before filing it with the court. Mark Bennett Robert Leonard George’s Lawyer Document hosted at http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=92e02c78-dcc6-451b-8f55-b264e39940e9

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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